Help needed: ILR long residence continuity query

[jayacharm]

Dear Gurus,
Me and my husband came to uk as students and then after competing studies my husband started working. I have been an student dependant and then a tier 2 dependant which is the visa am currently holding. Our 10 year long residence completes in Sep/18 and also tier 2 continuous five years residence completes in Feb/19. We have tier 2 until Feb/2020. We intend to apply ILR by 10 years route in Aug this year and would like your kind help with regard to the following questions.

1. Should my husband and I apply at the same time in person or can I apply later? I have heard that as soon as he receives ILR my tier 2 dependant visa will be cancelled. Does this mean it is better for me to apply first or for us to apply together on the same day in one day service?

2. How should our child’s tier 2 dependant visa (he was born in the UK) be converted to citizenship? When can this be done?

3. Any opinion on which route is better and more safe, 10 year or 5 year? (I once got a visa rejected for my own tier 2 visa which I applied for home country while on tier 2 dependant, due to an error in cos. But I came back to uk using my existing tier 2 dependant visa. Can this have any effect on either of the routes?)

Your help is much appreciated. Thank you very much in advance.

[CR001]

1. Should my husband and I apply at the same time in person or can I apply later? I have heard that as soon as he receives ILR my tier 2 dependant visa will be cancelled. Does this mean it is better for me to apply first or for us to apply together on the same day in one day service?

Your choice. No your visa will not be cancelled immediately but you should not risk travelling out of the UK.

2. How should our child’s tier 2 dependant visa (he was born in the UK) be converted to citizenship? When can this be done?

It is not 'converted'. Once EITHER parent has been granted ILR, the child is entitled to register as a British citizen on form MN1, costs just over £1000. Passport is a separate process and fee.

3. Any opinion on which route is better and more safe, 10 year or 5 year? (I once got a visa rejected for my own tier 2 visa which I applied for home country while on tier 2 dependant, due to an error in cos. But I came back to uk using my existing tier 2 dependant visa. Can this have any effect on either of the routes?)

Either. Less paper work for 10 years long residence and no minimum salary requirement for main tier 2 visa holder. More strict on absence limits though for long residence. No issue re your refusal.

[ntt05r]

Hi CR001,

Could you kindly expand on this:
"Your choice. No your visa will not be cancelled immediately but you should not risk travelling out of the UK."

In a seperate threat I was confirmed that if the main applicant gets the ILR the Tier 2 dependant visa for spouse should still be valid. If it is valid why should the dependant not risk travelling out of the UK?

Many thanks

[CR001]

The immigration rules require you to switch to FLR(M) if the main PBS visa holder applies for ILR based on long residence. These rules changed in April 2014.

It is risky to travel as you could potentially be refused re-entry to the UK and your visa cancelled/curtailed. We have had a couple of PBS Dependents in this situation experience this a couple of years ago if I recall correctly.

See link below of moderator 'vinny's' explanation of why it is risky. This was posted 6 months after the Rule changes in 2014, second link below.

immigration-for-family-members/flr-m-an ... l#p1100778

immigration-for-family-members/dependan ... 43881.html

You should apply for ILR LR as soon as you qualify, whether you both apply at the same time or a month apart, as you each apply independently of the other for long residence ILR.

[jayacharm]

Hi CR001,

Thank you very much for your help.

[ntt05r]

Thank you CR001.

Am I right in assuming all of your explaination ONLY APPLIES if the ILR is obtained via the Long Residence route? My question was aimed at the 5 years PBS route; in that case there is no risk for the my Tier 2 PBS dependant to travel in/out of the UK after I have obtained the ILR right?

Apologies I missed the LR bit from the original post, I saw Tier 2 and immediately thought this is similar to my case.

[CR001]

Thank you CR001.

Am I right in assuming all of your explaination ONLY APPLIES if the ILR is obtained via the Long Residence route? My question was aimed at the 5 years PBS route; in that case there is no risk for the my Tier 2 PBS dependant to travel in/out of the UK after I have obtained the ILR right?

Apologies I missed the LR bit from the original post, I saw Tier 2 and immediately thought this is similar to my case.

My advice to the OP in this topic relates to ILR Long Residence and NOT ILR based on 5 years Tier 2.

[jayacharm]

Dear Gurus,

We are intending to submit our ILR application on 10 year long residence soon. I have two queries to ask on which we are considering whether to go through a solicitor or go directly if you think our application looks straightforward.

1. We came to UK on student and student dependent visa in Sep/08. The student visa was curtailed after my husband completed his PhD 4 months earlier and the date of curtailment was 26/04/13. We left the UK on 22/04/2013 and applied for a new student visa under myself (to continue my ongoing studies that I started as a dependent) on 29/04/2013 from home country and received the visa on 15/05/2013 and came back to UK on 27/05/2013. Please could you confirm if this breaks or not breaks the continuity of residence?

2. Then in 2016, we were in tier 2 and tier 2 dependent visas and I made an individual application for a Tier 2 application from home country which was rejected due to an error in my Cos. But I came back to UK under my dependent visa, which was then extended along with my husband's visa extension later.

Do you think the above 2 needs a support from a solicitor or get an advantage by going through them? Or do you feel confident for us to go on own for a peo appointment and we will be fine?

I am very thankful for your answers which can potentially save us a lot and give us the peace of mind.

Best regards,
jayacharm

[jayacharm]

Dear Gurus,
Appreciate your URGENT help with the following,

Please, could you look at my query 1 above which as I understand does not break the continuity? However, do you think we should explain this in the cover letter and provide details about what my husband and I did after finishing his studies till the date we left to apply for a new visa in the home country, which was looking for jobs and that I was continuing my studies?

Many thanks.

[jayacharm]

Just to close this thread that I started, I would like to say that none of the above mattered. The above circumstances do not break the continuity and we did not submit any cover letters. We were successful in our ILR SET(LR).

I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who helped in this forum.